"Bingo!" USD Workers Recover Flushed Wedding Ring

It’s a triple-crown win for Union Sanitary District (USD) Collection Services workers: They recently recovered a treasured ring thought to be lost in a sewer line – the District’s third ring rescued in recent years.

Union City customer Bonhellita Ancona left the District a distraught voicemail noting she’d lost the wedding ring she’d worn for 74 years down her toilet several days previously. “If it’s found, please, please let me know,” she said in her message.

When Collection System Workers Johnny Powell and Chris Ybarra inspected the sewer main in her neighborhood the next day, their remote-controlled maintenance camera revealed the ring caught on a bit of debris. The cleaned-up ring was then reunited with its grateful owner.

Bonhellita’s son Leonard Ancona addressed USD’s Board of Directors at a recent meeting to thank staff members on behalf of his mother. He described working in Bonhellita’s yard as Powell and Ybarra tried to retrieve the ring, then hearing one of them call out “Bingo!” “An incredible find or a miracle was truly witnessed,” said Ancona. Hearing of two other rings rescued by Collection Services workers in previous years, Ancona smiled and concluded, “the trifecta is complete.”

“The steep terrain of the street and slope of USD’s main lines at that location make the ring a very lucky discovery considering it was lost many days earlier,” said Collection Services Manager Jose Rodrigues. “We’re glad to return something that means so much to the owner and family."